Pirates president Frank Coonelly says that the club does not expect to have A.J. Burnett for the coming season, reports ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. This confirms the recent statements of pitching coach Ray Searage indicating that Burnett seemed likely to retire.
"We'd love to have A.J. back," said Coonelly, "but right now we've turned the page and we're heading to Bradenton thinking he's not going to be with us. But if he surprises us and calls up tomorrow and says he wants to pitch again, we'd love to have him." Coonelly confirmed that, if Burnett does indeed decide to pitch (and, presumably, agrees to do so at the Bucs' price), the team would still "have the flexibility to bring him back."
